John Macnab

John Macnab
Author John Buchan
Country Scotland
Language English
Series Edward Leithen
Genre Novel
Publication date
 1925
Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages 208 pp
ISBN NA & reissue ISBN 1-85326-296-X
Preceded by The Power House
Followed by The Dancing Floor

John Macnab is a novel by John Buchan, published in 1925.

Plot summary

Three successful but bored friends in their mid-forties decide to turn to poaching. They are Sir Edward Leithen, lawyer, Tory Member of Parliament (MP), and ex-Attorney General; John Palliser-Yeates, banker and sportsman; and Charles, Earl of Lamancha, former adventurer and present Tory Cabinet Minister. Under the collective name of 'John Macnab', they set up in the Highland home of Sir Archie Roylance, a disabled war hero who wishes to be a Conservative MP.

They issue a challenge to three of Roylance’s neighbours: first the Radens, who are an old-established family, about to die out; next, the Bandicotts: an American archaeologist and his son, who are renting a grand estate for the summer; and lastly the Claybodys, vulgar, bekilted nouveaux riches. These neighbours are forewarned that 'John Macnab' will poach a salmon or a stag from their land and return it to them undetected. The outcome is that the men's boredom is dispelled with the assistance of helpers (including a homeless waif, 'Fish Benjie' and an athletic journalist, Crossby), and Archie Roylance marries Janet Raden, daughter of the grandee.

Influence

The Return of John MacNab was written by Andrew Greig as a 1990s retelling of the story.

TV adaptation

John Prebble adapted the book for a three-part BBC television production in 1976, directed by Donald McWhinnie.

Cast :

External links